Step stool



5. L. HUDD STEP STOOL May 28, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 21, 1954 mRN S D W H N W EH 0 M w L A E U A S mm m N QMN y 1957 s. 1.. HUDD 2,793,800

- v sssssss 0L srnr STOOL Samuel L. Hudd, Bellwood, Ill., assignor to Hub Plating Works, Inc., Broadview, 11]., a corporation of Illinois Application December 21, 1954, Serial No. 476,628

3 Claims. (Cl. 228-17) This invention relates to a dual-purpose or so-called step stool.

In recent years, it has become customary to contruct stools or the like of metal tubing which may easily be bent to fabricate a frame comprising legs and a support for the seat of the stool. In those instances where stools of this kind have been combined with structure in the form of steps enabling the stool to be used for other purposes such as a step ladder, it is necessary to include in the frame means for supporting the step treads, such means being attached to the frame by welding or a like operation or else by means of screws or like fastening devices. Such methods of mounting the step tread supports to the frame detract from the appearance of the stool, and moreover, connecting the supporting structure therefor to the frame requires separate operations during production of the stool which, coupled with the expense of equipment and parts necessary to carry out these methods, adds to the cost of the stool.

The primary object of the present invention is to enable a step stool to be constructed without resort to welding operations or the use of fastening devices for attaching the supporting structure for the step treads to the frame of the stool. Further primary objects of the present invention are to reduce the cost of production and fabrication of step stools; and to afford a step stool having no visible means attaching the supporting structure for the step treads to the frame.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings which, by way of illustration, show a preferred embodiment of the present invention and the principle thereof and what I now consider to be the best mode in which I have contemplated applying that principle. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art Without departing from the present invention and the purview of the amended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a stool embodying the principles of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an exploded view of the stool shown in Fig. l;

Figs. 3 and 4 are views showing the way in which the supporting structure for the step treads is to be sprung into the frame of the stool; and

Figs. 5 and 6 are sectional views showing the way in which the tread supports are mounted in the frame by tension alone.

The step stool of the present invention includes a frame 20 which is arranged to afford a stable base structure for a seat 21. The step stool also includes step atent 0 treads 22 and 23, each consisting of a grooved rubber tread at 22R carried on a wood mounting base 22B.

In the present instance the frame 20 is constructed of a one-piece metal tube which during fabrication is bent to afford a pair of upright spaced apart columns 25 and the frame 20 may be resorted to in affording a. support for the seat 21 above the floor and the step treads 22 Patented May 28, I957 ice 26 at the rear of the stool serving as a pair of rear legs. The portions of the metal frame affording the rear legs 25 and 26 are bent forwardly at 2513 and 26B respectively to afford a pair of forwardly extended stringers 27 and 28 which are adapted to rest on the floor where the stool is to be used. These stringers 27 and 28 are tapered slightly inwardly in a forward direction as can be seen in the drawings to afford a stable base for the stool which is tapered from front to rear. At the front of the stool, the stringers 27 and 28 are bent at 27B and 28B, respectively, to afford a lateral extending bight portion 29 which resists forward tilting.

The frame 20 in the present instance is arranged to stably support the seat 21 above the base afforded by the stringers 27 and 28 and the bight section 29, and such relation is attained by bending the upright columns 25 and 26 substantially at the medial positions thereof slightly in a forward direction as at 25B-2 and 2613-2, so that in the upper extents thereof the columns 25 and 26 are inclined slightly from the vertical to dispose the upper portions thereof within the area of the base of the stool.

To afford a support for the seat 21 of the stool, the end portions of the upright columns 25 and 26 above the stringers 27 and 28 are bent forwardly at 25B-3 and 26B-3 to aiford a pair of arms 31 and 32 that lie in a true horizontal plane, parallel with the plane of the base of the stand and these arms are so disposed as to support the seat 21 in a manner to be described in more detail below. Inasmuch as the frame 20 is constructed from one-piece metal tubing as noted above, the open ends of the arms 31 and 32 are sealed with metal caps C of a known kind telescoping into these open ends of the' tube 20.

In accordance with the present invention, the step treads 22 and 23 are supported by a pair of struts41 and 42 which like the frame 20 are each constructed of one- .piece metal tubing. The details of constmction for the struts 41 and 42 will be described in detail below, but it may here be pointed out that the step treads 22 and 23 are arranged at different levels and secured in position by screws S screwed into the underside of the mounting blocks 22B as afforded by suitable openings 44 drilled through the struts at the different levels. I

The struts 41 and 42 for the step treads 22 and 23 are removably attached .to the frame 20 and are securely held in position without the assistance of screws or similar fastening devices. This relation is attained by having the struts sprung in the frame 20 to be retained therein by tension alone. Thus, mounting sockets for the struts in the frame 20 are provided in the form of laterally spaced apart openings 45 and 46 in the bight portion 29 of the frame and openings 47 and 48 in the forwardly bent upper portions of the upright columns 25 and 26. The two sets of sockets thus provided in the frame 20 are so dimensioned'as to permit insertion therein of the lower and upper ends respectively of the struts 41 and 42. In this connection, it will be appreciated that the tubing from which the struts 41 and 42 are constructed is of substantially smaller diameter than the tubing of which frame 20 is constructed so that the mounting sockets in the frame 20 for the struts 41 and 42 may be of slightly larger diameter than that of the tubing of which the struts are formed.

For purposes of disclosure in the present instance, the

invention is illustrated from the standpoint of a pair of step treads 22 and 23, but it will be appreciated that the. principles of the present invention may be relied, upon in affording a single step tread as well as more than two step treads. Also, a frame substantially different than and 23. Thus, the struts 41 and 42 are each bent to afford a pair of lower horizontally disposed tread"sup ports 41L and 42L and a pair of horizontally disposed upper tread supports 41U and 4211. The two tread supports thus afforded are further disposed in spaced vertical relation relative one to the other by a pair of opposite risers R-1 and R2 formed in the medial portions of the struts, and the lower tread supports "41L and 42L are to be disposed above the stringers 27 and 23 in the base of the frame by risers R3 and R4 formed at the corresponding ends of the struts. Thus, the struts in the portions thereof intermediate the risers R-3 and R-4 and the respective tread supports 1L-Land 42-L are bent rearwardly at 41B and 4213 to dispose the 'lower tread supports in a horizontal plane relative to the vertical plane of the risers R-3 and R-4. Similarly, the struts in the portions between the lower tread supports and the risers 'R1 and 'R'2 are bent upwardly at 4113-1 and 42B'2 to dispose the risers R-1 and R2 in 'a' vertical plane relative to the plane of the lower tread supports, and the struts are each bent again in a rearward direction at 41B-3 and 428-3 todispose the upper tread supports in a horizontal plane relative to the plane of the risers R-1 and R-2.

In accordance with the present invention, the'relation between the ends of the struts 41 and 42 and the sockets 45,46, 47 and 48 in the frame 20 in which the ends of the struts are to be inserted is such that it is necessary to spring or flex the strutsin order to attach the struts to the'frame. As shown in Figs. 3 and '4, the lower ends LE-l and LE-2, respectively, of the struts 41 and-42 are first inserted into the respective openings 45 and 46 afforded therefor in the bight portion 29 of the frame, and thus the pitch of these openings corresponds to the pitch of the struts 41 and 42 at the lower ends thereof. After the lower ends of the struts 41 and 42- have been inserted into the base of the frame 2%} in this manner, the upper ends UE1 and UE-2, respectively, of the struts '41 and 42,,arefound to be disposed above the openings 47'and 48 and out of registry therewith when the struts are tilted from front to rear to engage the upright columns 25 and 26 as shown in Fig. 4. However, the inherent resiliency of the struts 41 and 42 enables the struts to be manually flexed downward to the F-1 and F-2 positions shown in Fig. 4 wherein the upper ends UE1 and UE-2 of the struts are aligned with the mounting sockets 47 and 48. Thus, by manually flexing struts 41 and 42 to the flexed positions F-l and F-2 shown in Fig. 4, the upper ends of the struts may be readily inserted into the mounting sockets 47 and 48, respectively, and springing the struts 41 and 42 intothe frame in this manner mounts the struts in the frame by tension alonecausing the upper ends of the struts 41 and 42 to be sprung tightly against the upper peripheral edges of the mounting sockets 47 and 48 as shown in Fig. 5. At the same time, the lower ends of the struts 41 and 42 press'tightly outwardly against the sockets 45 and 46 as shown in Fig. 6, and inasmuch as this sprung condition of the struts 41 and 42 in the frame 20-is of substantial magnitude, the struts can be removedfrom the frame 20 only by applying downward bending forces of a substantial degree to the portions of the struts corresponding to the tread supports U and 4211 to enable the upper ends of the struts to be withdrawnfrom their respective mounting sockets.

The seat 21 comprises a wood base 218. Suitable packing is afforded and this is confined on the base by a plastic covering 21C fastened down on the base in any suitable fashion. The seat 21 being supported on the arms 31 and 32 above the step treads 22 and 23, itis desirous to be able to pivot the seat 21 to an open position in an instance where the steps of the stool are to be used. This is made possible in the present instance by securingpivot'pins 42 or trunnions to the underside cf 4 the seat 21, and these pins are adapted to fit into openings as 42-0 afforded therefor in the inside portions of the bent portions 25B-3 and 26B3 of the frame 20 to enable the seat to be raised and lowered on the arms 31 and 32. Rods may be conveniently resorted to for the pivot pins 42, and such are bent to afford hook portions as 42H which are fastened to the underside of the seat 21 as by washers and screws passed through the eye of the hook into the base 21B of the seat. The pivot pins thus afforded at the underside of the seat 21 each include relatively long shanks 43 which constitute spring arms enabling fiexure of the pins 42 into and out of the mounting openings 42-0 so that the seat 21 may be removably and pivotally supported on the arms 31 and 32 of the frame 20.

Spring clips as 45 of a well known kind are attached as by screws to the underside of the seat 21 to prehensibly hold the seat 21 down on the supporting arms 31 and 32. Thus, the clips 45 are in the form of springs having web portions extended outwardly of the underside of the'seat 21, and inwardly bent arcuate hooks at the free ends of the web portions are adapted to fit about circumferential portions of the arms 31 and 32 in a well known releasable relation. I

Accordingly, the seat 21 may be disposed in tr closed position on the arms 31 and 32 to afford a seat above the steps 22 and 23, or this seat 21 may be opened in a rearward direction as afforded by the pivot pins 42 to expose the step treads 22 and 23 for use. As was noted hereinabove, the sprung relation of the struts. 41 and 42 in the frame 20 tensions the ends of the struts tightly against portions of the peripheral edges of the mounting sockets afforded in the frame. This engagement between the struts and the frame is of substantial magnitude, so that considerable weight may be carriedby the step treads 22 and 23 without disturbing the sprung condition of the struts. However, the step stool of the present invention may nevertheless be readily knocked down merely by the application of downward thrust disengaging'the upper ends UE-1 and UE-2 of the struts relative to the peripheral portions of the sockets 47 and 48 upon which they bear, to enable the struts to be pulled away from the frame.

Thus, while I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that this is capable of' variation and modification, and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth, but desire to avail myself of such changes and alterations as. fall within the, purview of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A combined stool and step ladder of the kind described including a one-piece tubular metal frame of a shape "to afliord a generally U-shaped base having the big ht thereof forwardly disposed, a pair of spaced apart upright columns extending from the rear ends of the sides of the U-shaped base, said columns being of substantially equal height and having oppositely disposed parallel arms extending forwardly horizontally from the upper ends thereof forming a seat support above the U-shaped base, a seat mounted upon said arms, the bight portion of said base having a pair of spaced openings therein and the upper portions of said columns having a pair of openings therein, said pairs of openings affording mounting sockets, and a pair of one-piece tubular metal strutswaifording at least a pair of oppositely disposed step tread supports and each strut having the ends thereof engaging the opening in one of the columns and one of the openings in the bight of the frame, each of said struts being dimensioned relative to said openings in the 'bight of the base of the frame and in the columns so that the ends of the struts may be inserted into said' pairs of openings to mount the struts on the frame by tension alone when the struts are sprung sufliciently to align the ends thereof with said openings, and a step tread mounted upon said step tread supports.

2. A combined stool and step ladder of the kind described inc-luding a one-piece tubular metal frame of a shape to afford a generally U-shaped base having the bight thereof disposed forwardly of the same, a pair of spaced apart upright columns extending from the rear ends of the sides of the base, said columns being of substantially the same height and the upper portions of each of the columns from a point substantially medially of the ends thereof being forwardly inclined and the columns having oppositely disposed parallel arms extending forwardly horizontally from the upper ends thereof forming a seat support above the U-shaped base, a seat mounted upon said arms, the bight portion of said base having a pair of spaced openings therein and the upper forwardly inclined portions of said columns having a pair of openings therein, said pairs of openings affording mounting sockets, and a pair of one-piece tubular metal struts affording at least a pair of oppositely disposed step tread supports and each strut having the ends thereof engaging the opening in one of the columns and one of the openings in the bight of the frame, each of said struts being dimensioned relative to said openings in the bight of the base of the frame and in the columns so that the ends of the struts may be inserted into said opening-s to mount the struts on the frame 'by tension alone when the struts are sprung sufi'iciently to align the ends thereof with said openings, and a steptread mounted upon said step tread supports.

3. A combined stool and step ladder of the kind described including a one-piece tubular metal frame of a shape to afford a generally U-shaped base having the bight thereof disposed forwardly of the same, a pair of spaced apart upright columns extending from the rear ends of the sides of the base, the columns being of substantially equal height, the upper portions of the columns from a point substantially medially of their ends being forwardly inclined and having oppositely disposed parallel arms extending forwardly horizontally from the upper ends thereof forming a seat support above the U-shaped base, the bight of the base having a pair of spaced openings therein and the upper forwardly inclined portions of the columns having a pair of openings therein, said pairs of openings forming mounting sockets, a pair of onepiece tubular metal str-uts affording at least a pair of oppositely disposed step tread supports and each strut having the ends thereof engaging the opening in one of the columns and one of the openings in the bight of the frame, each of said struts being dimensioned relative to said openings in the bight of the base of the frame and in the columns so that the ends of the struts may be inserted into the sockets provided in the base and supporting columns to mount the struts on the frame by tension alone when the struts are sprung sufliciently to align the ends thereof with said sockets, a step tread mounted upon said step tread supports, and a seat having near its forward end portions to rest upon the forward portions of said seat supporting arms and said seat being pivotally mounted at its rear portion to rear portions of the supporting arms, the seat being thus mounted to be supported horizontally upon the arms above the step tread and to be swung rearwardly from this position out of the vertical plane of the step tread.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 148,956 Rhodes Mar. 9, 1948 D. 157,835 Burd Mar. 28, 1950 1). 169,337 'Reece Apr. 14, 1953 494,358 Weeks Mar. 28, 1893 1,407,912 Bates Feb. 28, 1922 

